Clockwork Armageddon
by A.H.I.Fan
Summary: It's been seven years since Riley and Gabriel broke it off and a lot has changed. The world is being run by human/computer hybrids like Gabriel, but he's left Cyber Com and he's working in the private sector for Nelson. Riley is on a protective detail for a chipped six-year-old. When a crisis brings them together again sparks fly but can they save the world for us one more time?
1. Chapter 1

**Preface**

In 2015 terrorists released deadly bio-engineered viruses that killed millions. In 2016 Global warming caused weather changes so severe that it led to world-wide famine. All the world's governments pooled their resources to advance the Clockwork program and create more human/computer hybrids like Gabriel, now commonly called A. or Augmented Human Intelligents. Gabriel worked tirelessly training others like him to use their resources to create technology to overcome these new threats. Gradually, the tide began to turn and the human population was no longer in constant danger of extinction. At last Gabriel and Riley developed a romantic relationship. In 2017 they became engaged and were about to set a date when Riley suddenly broke off their engagement and took an assignment in Dubai. Hurt and confused, Gabriel left Cyber Command and took a job in the private sector working for his old friend turned computer security entrepreneur, Nelson Cassidy. On April 15, 2018 the United States was the first country to vote that their government should no longer be a republic, but should be governed by A. . All the other world powers followed suit. Our story begins in April, 2024.

MEETING OF THE UNITED NATIONS AUGMENTED INTELLIGENCE REPRESENTATIVES

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

A tall thin Arab in traditional dress is standing before the podium in a large conference room.

He says, "The Chair recognizes the Intelligent from China."

An uptight looking Asian woman stands to address the crowd.

She says, "Why have the humans developed the sudden interest in running their governments again? We've been socializing them to believe that Humans live happier lives with Augmented Human Intelligents running things. After all we've ended war, eliminated world hunger and we are well on the way to reestablishing the world economy."

The Chair says, "The cause is not readily apparent," and uses his hands to pull up a projected graph, "There have been no significant changes in their education process. The theme and frequency of our propaganda messages have remained constant."

A young, Adonis in his twenties raises his hand.

The Chair says, "The Chair recognizes the Intelligent from Greece."

The Adonis says, "Do they even understand what they're asking for? Running their own governments will mean managing the economy of the world while monitoring the health of every human on it and simultaneously resurrecting the earth's eco system. It doesn't leave much time for watching Celebrity Sex Match or Gossip Gladiators."

A young black woman raises her hand.

The Chair says, "The Chair recognizes the Intelligent from the United States."

She says, "Spare us your dismissive over-generalizations, Georgeolos. There are many advantages to being in charge of your own government and you don't have to be augmented to see that.

The Chair says, "The Chair recognizes the Intelligent from Russia,"

A short man with a close cropped beard says, "Perhaps it is time to remind the humans why they put us in charge."

The Chair interrupts him, "I have just received a report from US Cyber Command on a credible terrorist threat to Augmented Intellects. I am distributing it to you now ….." He begins to spasm as if electrocuted and falls to the ground. All the other Intelligents begin to do the same.

Special Agent Charlie Griffin runs to the side of the Intelligent from the United States. He kneels and checks her pulse yelling into his com, "The I.O.T.U.S. is down. I repeat the I.O.T.U.S. is down!"

U.S. CYBER COMMAND

ANGEL'S BLUFF, VA

Riley Neal sits watching her assignment, a tall, thin six-year-old with fine blond hair and an unruly cowlick playing a chess game on the computer. He smiles suddenly, making his dimples show and she feels her heart squeeze.

"Look Riley. I'm going to beat him this time." Michael says.

"That's what you said the last time," Riley says.

Her phone buzzes with a secure text message from Lillian. "Execute G2G Protocol" Riley reads.

Riley sets her watch for a five minute countdown.

"Michael, guess what!" she says in an excited tone.

"What Riley, I'm trying to concentrate here," Michael says.

"Guess who Mommy just met?" Riley says.

"Who?" Michael asks.

"The real Anker Shah!" Riley says.

"The one from my chess game?" Michael asks.

"Yes, the very one, but he has to leave for another appointment in 15 minutes so we have to hurry if you want to get to meet him." She says.

"Let's go," Michael says jumping to his feet, the chess game forgotten.

She takes his hand and they begin walking swiftly out of the room.

"In order to get there on time, we are going to have to get out of this building in," she looks down at her watch, "four minutes and four seconds."

They hurry down the hallway of Cyber Com passing Jameson.

"Where are you going in such a hurry little man?" Jameson calls after them.

"I'm going to meet Anker Shah, but we have to get there in 15 minutes or he'll be gone!" Michael calls over his shoulder.

"No time for small talk if we're going to make it. Is that as fast as you can walk?" Riley asks.

"Yes, but I can go faster if I run," Michael says.

"It won't be fast enough. We're going to have to do Monkey Boy!" She says squatting down in front of him like a sprinter in the blocks.

"Monkey Boy!" shouts Michael as he jumps onto her back without hesitation throwing his arms around her shoulders and fastening his legs around her sides in one swift, well practiced movement. Riley propels herself up as if the starting gun had sounded and sprints to a set of elevators at the end of a long hall.

"2 minutes 13 seconds," Riley says as she punches the button. The elevator opens right away and she gets in with Michael still on her back. She presses the ground button and helps Michael off her back.

"Are we going to make it?" Michael asks.

"I'm afraid not. Michael, can you access the drone on the Hummer and get it pulled up to the elevator doors?" she asks.

Michael freezes and gets a look of concentration on his face. …..

"Got it!" Michael shouts.

"When the elevator stops on the ground floor, I'm going to have to do a check. I want you to get down right here and stay behind this wall until I signal you, and if something happens to me what do you do?" she asks.

"Hide until someone I know comes to get me!" he says in a bored, but well rehearsed voice.

"That's right!" Riley says.

Riley draws her gun out from under her jacket. The elevator stops and the doors open. We see a huge black SUV with the motor running parked in front of the doors in the parking garage. Michael stands silently plastered into the corner of the elevator car. Riley sweeps left and right with her gun out then she signals to Michael and he runs to her. She puts her palm up to the window of the SUV, a light flashes behind her palm and the door slides open. Riley hands Michael into the Humvee, pulling herself in just before the door slams shut again.

"Buckle up," she calls over her shoulder as she climbs into the driver's seat. She glances at her watch. It reads 28 seconds.

Michael sits down and a harness slides smoothly down securing him. Riley revs the engine and the SUV leaps forward. She races up the ramp and out into the sun lit parking lot. She can see that the gate to the parking lot is already closing. She pulls up to the guard shack where a guard is standing.

"Hi Bud, any chance you can let us slide through before it closes?" she says casually while her hand tightens on the gun she is holding down next to her seat.

"Please Bud, we are going to get to meet Anker Shah, but we have to get there before he leaves or I'll miss him." Michael says.

"No can do, Michael. Once we get the signal to lock it down, we can't let anyone out. I'm afraid you'll just have to meet this Anchor another time." Bud says. Riley's hand tightens on her gun.

Suddenly the gate starts opening again.

"Wait a minute, you're in luck. Looks like they just sounded the all clear!"

"Thanks Bud, I think we still have time to make it if we hurry!" Riley says as she pulls through the gate.

"Was that you Michael?" she asks.

"Yes. I didn't mean to. I just thought that I didn't want you to hurt Bud and the gate started opening again." Michael says.

"That's alright Michael it was a good thing, but you aren't supposed to do that without asking me first." Riley says as she squeals around a corner on two wheels and guns it.

"We aren't really going to see Anker Shah, are we?" he says.

"No, I'm afraid I lied to you about that. This is another one of your Mom's safety drills," Riley says.

"What is the G2G Protocol?" Michael asks.

"I thought you promised me that you weren't going to hack my phone anymore," Riley says sternly.

"I just wanted to know what was going on," Michael says sulkily.

"G2G means Go to Ground. It's a drill Mommy thought of for what I would do if she thought Cyber Com was insecure and she wanted me to take you to a safe place," Riley says.

And it was almost true, except that G2G stood for "Go to Gabriel" and this was no drill.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for all the kind reviews. It really motivated me to hurry up and write the next chapter. To all of you guessers out there, I think you will enjoy it more if you just wait and see what happens. It will be more fun that way. Thanks again!

Chapter 2

Clockwork Armageddon

FEDERAL EXPRESS DRONE HUB

ANGEL'S BLUFF, VA

Riley pulls up to the gate driving a gray sedan that she and Michael stole from the Park and Ride where they left the SUV. She fervently hopes that the Cyber Com agents who must be searching for them were fooled by the cameras that Michael looped at the train station there or the G.P.S. auto-piloted car from the same lot that he programmed to head for the airport. She rolls down her window and the guard at the gate gives her an expectant look.

"I'm Carla Johnson with the FAA," she says handing him her FAA identification card, "This location was chosen for a random site visit."

The guard examines the card and returns it to her.

"You can park in one of the visitor spaces over there," he says pointing to some spaces labeled visitor and grabbing the phone.

She parks the car, pops the trunk and walks around to pull a very large and heavy tool case out of it. The case has wheels so once she gets it out of the trunk she rolls it along with relative ease.

Riley walks up to the reception desk dragging her case behind her.

"Hi, I'm Carla Johnson with the FAA," Riley says handing over her credentials, "Your site has been chosen for a random inspection,"

The receptionist gave her a horrified look and says, "Let me call Randy."

After about five minutes, Randy, a heavy set man with an ill fitting blue suit, arrives.

"Ms. Johnson," Randy says putting out his hand for a hand shake, "I'm Randy Ellis, Chief Engineer."

"Nice to meet you Randy" Riley says smiling up at him as she shakes his hand, "You can call me Carla."

"Nice to meet you Carla," he smiles back, "Call me Randy. I've never had a surprise FAA inspection before so I guess you better tell me what you need.

"It's not too complicated really. I just need to randomly select a drone in each weight class, check its maintenance log and inspect it. I usually start with the larger drones and work my way down," she says.

"Sure, that shouldn't be any problem. I'll take you over to the drone hangers myself," he says, "May I carry your case for you?"

"Thank you, but no. Some of the instruments in here are very delicate and I'm already so used to dragging it around that I don't bang it into anything by mistake," she says.

"Suit yourself," Randy says and walks her down the hall, out onto a runway and then into a hangar filled with drones.

"Here we are," he says.

"I just need to select one and inspect it," Riley says looking around the room until she sees a body transport drone, "How about that one," she says pointing.

"Certainly, that is one of our body transport drones. It's a new model, but they have pretty simple navigation systems. They don't carry any other kind of cargo, and they always fly direct with no stops," he said.

"Sounds like it won't take too long to inspect then. Can you get it down for me and get me the maintenance logs? I'm going to need a quiet place to work where I can tear it down to inspect it. "

"Sure. I'll have Scott get it down for you with the fork lift and put it into the empty hangar next door. Do you mind if I go back to my office for awhile?" Randy asks, "Scott will be happy to get you anything else you need."

"Certainly, I'm not allowed to have any of your personnel in the room during the inspection anyway," Riley says.

"Just go on over to the hangar next door, Ma'am," Scott says, "I'll bring you the drone when Kelly gets me the log."

Riley drags the tool chest over into the next hangar and looks around carefully before speaking into the com in her sleeve.

"How are you doing in there Michael," she asks.

"Fine, it's just boring," he says.

"Are you having any trouble breathing?" she asks.

"No, the ventilation system is working fine," he says.

"Good, I'm afraid you're going to have to stay in there just a little longer until they give me some privacy," she says.

The hangar's garage door rolls up and Scott is there on the fork lift bearing the body transport drone.

"Where do you want it, Ma'am?" Scott asks.

"Just bring it in far enough that I can close the door back. I don't want to get any particles in the engine while I'm taking it apart," she says.

Scott complies with her request, then hands her the log book.

"There you go ma'am. I'll be next door moving some things when you need me to get you another one," Scott says backing up his beeping forklift and pushing the button that sends the garage door back down.

Riley pulls her gun and quickly checks the hangar before holstering her gun, opening the case and releasing Michael.

"You okay?" Riley asks.

"I'm okay, but I'm glad to get out of there," Michael says.

"This is the last leg of our journey," she says.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going now?" he asks.

"We're going to a ranch near North Eagle Butte, South Dakota," she says.

"Why? What's there?" he asks.

"An old friend of mine and your mother's named Gabriel Vaughn. He has a chip in his head a lot like yours. In fact, he was the original Augmented Human Intelligent prototype," Riley says.

"Awesome! I've read about him. It will be cool seeing how the old technology works," Michael says.

"I can't wait till you call him old technology to his face," Riley laughs, "but that's the good news. The bad news is that you are going to have to ride in this drone to get there."

"That's a body transport drone. How are we going to breathe and regulate our temperature?" he asks.

Riley pulls what looks like two body bags out of another compartment in the case.

"We are going to zip ourselves up in these," she says, then she opens one and reveals what looks like a portable breathing machine, "and breathe through these."

"I'm really tired of being cooped up Riley," he says.

"I know sweetheart," she says putting her hand on his head sympathetically, "but just think how fun it will be to meet Gabriel. He always has some really cool gadgets too!"

Michael smiles and begins looking at the drone.

"How long will it take us to get there?" he asks.

"A little under 5 hours," she says, "Can you disable its tracking device and set the G.P.S. for latitude 45 North and longitude 101.27 West?"

"And Michael, if something happens to me ..." she begins.

Interrupting Michaels says, "I know. I know. Hide and wait for someone I know."

"No, I was going to say you can trust Gabriel. He's a good man. One of the best I've ever known and I know he will do everything he can to protect you," Riley says.

She pauses for a moment.

"Have you got the coordinates programmed into the computer?" Riley says.

"Yes. It's was easy," Michael says.

"Good, then I'm afraid it's time to put you in your body bag," she says.

She helps him into the body bag.

"There you are little boy. After this we'll have a nice long rest," she says.

"And get something good to eat? Those protein bars are gross," he says.

"Yes we'll have pizza!" she says.

"Can we have pepperoni?" he asks.

"Absolutely, now I'm going to zip you up and lay you in the drone. We'll both take a nice nap and then we'll be at Gabriel's," she says.

Just as Riley starts to zip him up Scott walks into the hangar with a coke in one hand. Startled she turns and points her gun at him. Scott runs out the door he came in leaving it open. Riley quickly zips Michael up and lays him in the drone then she pushes the button that opens the overhead door of the hangar.

"Come on. Come on," she says watching the door as at it slowly starts to open.

A security guard appears in the doorway with his gun pointed at her.

"Please step away from the drone and show me your hands, miss," he says sternly but politely.

"Officer," she says stepping closer, "I don't understand," another step toward him, "Why are you pointing that gun at me?" one more step.

"Stay where you are, miss," he says still pointing the gun at her, "I don't want to have to hurt you."

"What's the problem? I'm with the FAA. Let me show you my ID," she says reaching into her jacket for the fake ID and taking one more step toward him.

"Keep your hands where I can see them," the guard says nervously.

"Of course," Riley says, "just let me put it back in my pocket," but she drops the ID on the floor.

"Whoops," she says bending to pick it up.

She comes up with a chop to his throat. The guard's gun goes off and the bullet hits Riley in the thigh. She manages to twist the gun out of his hand and brings her other knee up to meet his crotch repeatedly until he falls over. She pitches his gun behind a shelving unit and limps to the drone. She manages to step into her body bag and almost falls back into the drone. She pushes a button on the outside of the drone and lies down. The drone's lid closes down and its engines begin to hum. Zipping up her body bag, she feels a surge of happiness. She is going to see Gabriel again. At least she is if she doesn't bleed out before she gets there.


	3. Chapter 3

**I hope you all can understand what is happening in this chapter. It is pretty complicated but I tried hard to make it clear. I threw in a little stream of consciousness with Gabriel that I hope is not annoying. I just needed a way to show that his exterior calm was misleading. I'd love to hear what you think!**

Chapter 3

Clockwork Armageddon

VAUGHN RANCH

NEAR NORTH EAGLE BUTTE, SOUTH DAKOTA

Michael is startled awake by a voice.

"You have entered secure air space. Identify yourself or you will be shot down," Gabriel says.

"Riley," Michael shouts, "Riley wake up!"

"Can you hear me? Identify yourself or you will be shot down," Gabriel says.

The drone has no radio. I can hear you but you can't hear me, Michael thinks. He uses his chip to search for a way to communicate with the voice, letting his mind wander the paths of the Internet. He begins to panic as he wends this way and that way with no success. Finally, he finds a radio communication device for the deaf.

"This is your last warning. Identify yourself or we will shoot you down," Gabriel shouts.

Frantically Michael makes the connection between the communication device and the channel the voice is broadcasting from.

"I'm Michael Strand," he says using the computer generated voice, "Who are you?"

"I'm Gabriel," he says, "Michael Strand? Are you related to Lillian?" Gabriel asks.

"Yes, she's my Mom," Michael says.

"How old are you Michael?" Gabriel asks.

"I'm six," he says.

"No offense, but isn't Lillian a little old to have a six year old son?" Gabriel asks.

"I'm adopted. I have the 4U7-R gene mutation and adopting me was the only way my mom could keep me safe," Michael says, "I'm with my friend Riley, but she's been shot and I can't get her to wake up!"

"Riley Neal?" Gabriel asks sharply.

"Yes, she's my protection and we were doing a drill called the G2G protocol, but I don't really think it's a drill anymore!" Michael says.

"You really did you research didn't you? Creating a scenario that's sure to get my guard down and bring me running," Gabriel says.

"I'm not creating scenarios," Michael says.

"Do you really expect me to believe this computer generated voice on the radio belongs to a six-year-old who just happens to be my ex-fiancée's protection assignment?" Gabriel asks.

"Yes," says Michael.

"So it's just a coincidence that you show up less than 8 hours after every intelligent representative at the United Nations meeting in New York was killed by a monstrous power surge and every cyber agency in the world is on red alert?" Gabriel asks.

"Does that mean you don't believe me?" Michael asks.

"Yes, that's exactly what it means," Gabriel says.

Michael pauses trying to figure out how he can convince Gabriel.

"I have a chip in my head just like you," he says.

"Jesus kid, how old were you when they chipped you?" he asks.

"I was just a baby. I don't even remember not having a chip," Michael says.

"Saying you have a chip in your head doesn't prove anything. This could still be anyone," Gabriel says.

"If you'll render with me, I can show you what happened," Michael says.

" Why not? Render away," Gabriel says.

Michael shows him images: Riley watching Michael play chess, Riley looking at her phone screen reading, "Execute G2G Protocol", Riley sweeping the parking garage then calling for Michael to come to her, Riley driving and turning to look over her shoulder, Riley saying, "… you can trust Gabriel. He's a good man. One of the best I've ever known and I know he will do everything he can to protect you.", Riley zipping Michael into his body bag, then nothing but sounds, the sounds of Riley stalling the security guard, a struggle, a shot fired, a dragging noise, and the sound of a drone's engines humming.

A flood of emotion overwhelms Gabriel. He has spent the last seven years disciplining himself never, ever to think of Riley Neal. He only thinks of her now very occasionally in unguarded moments when he wakes up in the middle of the night, or when a happy memory dislodges from the depths of his soul and floats to the surface of his consciousness. He steals himself and begins to analyze the data in the images of Riley, looking for proof that Michael's story is real.

After a few moments of concentration Gabriel says, "I'm sorry Michael. There is no data here that confirms your story as fact.

Michael says, "Well … Riley says sometimes you have to stop listening to the data and listen to what your heart is telling you."

It is enough. The balance tips, the damn breaks and Gabriel can no longer hold himself aloof even if this is a trick. He has to get to Riley!

Gabriel presses a button on an intercom shouting, "Mac get down here and bring your kit. I need you to treat a gunshot wound."

A litany of prayer begins in his thoughts, _"Please God, let her be alright!"_

"Michael, what are your landing coordinates?" Gabriel barks.

"Latitude 45 North, longitude 101.27 West," Michael says.

"That will put you out in my back forty. How long till you land?" Gabriel asks, still praying, _"Please God, let her be alright!"_

"Approximately 8 minutes and 38 seconds," Michael says.

"Spoken like a true Intelligent. I won't be able to get to you that fast, but it's important that you don't open the drone till I get there. It's dark and it will be below freezing outside. If Riley is bleeding the smell might attract some nasty critters," Gabriel says, and he prays, _"Please God let her be alright!"_

A tank of a man with a salt and pepper crew cut and a Walrus moustache skids into the room bearing a medical kit.

"I thought you'd been shot," Mac says.

"Not me, it's a friend of mine who's about to land in the dessert near here," Gabriel says, "Bring some of my mother's blood with you." _Please God let her be alright!_

"Do you know your friends blood type?" Mac asks.

"O positive, but Mom's O negative so she's a universal donor, isn't she?" Gabriel asks.

"Yes, but if I need more than one bag I'd rather have a match," Mac says.

"Come on nurse, quit arguing and move! Get the blood and meet me at the helicopter," Gabriel says.

On the run to the helicopter pad Michael cybers the intercom in his mother's room, "Mom, Mac and I have to run out for a little while. Will you be alright?" he asks.

"Did you wake me up to tell me that?" she bellows.

"Sorry Mom," he says.

"Where are you going," she asks.

"There are some visitors in the back forty and they might be hurt," Gabriel says.

"Do these visitors have names?" she asks.

"One of them is Riley Neal," he says.

"Be careful, Gabriel," she says.

He climbs into the chopper and quickly begins to ready it for take-off. Mac jumps in with bags of blood in hand. Gabriel takes off and then cuts the helicopter violently to one side.

"Careful, Gabriel, I'm not going to be able to help anyone if you give me a concussion," Mac says.

"Sorry Mac, but no can do. Every second counts," Gabriel says. _Please God let her be alright!_

Even the helicopters rotors seem to be beating a tune to Gabriel's litany, _Please God let her be alright! Let her be alright! Let her be alright!_

The short ride feels interminable. Finally, he locates the drone using night vision.

"I see two heat signatures, both human, but only the little one is moving," Gabriel shouts over the noise of the rotors. _Please God let her be alright!_

Quickly, he brings the helicopter down within sight of the drone.

"Come on Mac," Gabriel yells as he jumps out, ducking under the propellers that are still turning and running to the drone. He locates the button that opens the drone's compartment and jabs it with his finger. _Please God let her be alright!_

Gabriel feels sick when he sees the blood stain on the body bag inside the drone. He lifts the bag carefully out of the drone carrying it back to the helicopter as quickly as he can. _Please God let her be alright! _

"You get the other one Mac," Gabriel yells over his shoulder.

Very gently he lays the bag on the floor of the helicopter and unzips it revealing a pale and white-lipped Riley. He checks her pulse. His body sags in relief. _Thank you, God! Thank you, God! Thank you, God! _

Mac arrives carrying a tall, skinny boy who looks older than six.

"Get over here Mac. I'll take care of him," Gabriel says.

Mac bends over Riley listening to her heart beat.

"You must be Michael," Gabriel says trying to distract the boy from the sight of Riley lying helpless.

Mac slips a portable oxygen mask over Riley's head.

"And you must be Gabriel," Michael says.

Mac quickly examines Riley's wound, then he sticks an IV in her arm and hangs a bag of blood.

"She's lost a lot of blood," Mac says, "but I think we can take care of her."

"Ever ridden in a helicopter before Michael?" he asks.

"No. Mom says they are too dangerous," Michael says.

"Well, what Mom doesn't know won't hurt her. Climb in," Gabriel says.

Michael obeys and Gabriel fastens his seat belt, tightening it around his small frame. Gabriel climbs into the pilot seat and looks at Mac. Mac gives him the thumbs up and they take off back to the ranch house. Gabriel looks over at Michael who is hanging on for dear life.

"Don't worry little man," Gabriel says smiling, "Everything is going to be alright now."

And for the first time in a long time, Gabriel feels like it just might be true.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Clockwork Armageddon

Riley could hear Gabriel speaking softly. Maybe she could get him to come back to bed. She wasn't ready to get up. She caught a whiff of coffee and stretched. Why did her leg hurt so much? Her eyes opened and she saw Gabriel standing there with a breakfast tray. She smiled at him drowsily and said, "Breakfast in bed?"

Then she remembered!

"Michael!" she shrieked, sitting upright with a start.

"He's fine. He's fine," Gabriel says.

"Where is he?" she asks.

"He's downstairs playing chess with my Mom. Don't worry. There isn't a scratch on him. He's just a little worried about you," Gabriel says.

"Are you sure he's alright?" she asks.

"I'm sure. I've been showing him around and teaching him a few tricks. He's a cute kid," Gabriel says.

"How did I get here?" she asks.

"Do you remember being shot?" he asks.

She thought back. The last thing she remembered was being at Cyber Com with Michael. Wait, she had gotten the B2B protocol message, then … it all came back to her.

"Yes, the security guard shot me in the leg and I got in the drone and then…" she trails off.

"Then you passed out. You lost a lot of blood and went into shock. We got to the drone as soon as we could, but your blood pressure was very low. Mac removed the bullet and he's been giving you blood and fluids since then. There shouldn't be any lasting damage, but you're going to need some time to rest and recover," he says.

"Wait, what day is this?" Riley asks.

"It's Wednesday night," he says.

When she had taken off in the drone it has been Tuesday afternoon.

"What's wrong, Gabriel? Why did Lillian send us here? Is Michael in danger?" she asks.

"She sent you here because she knows I can keep you and Michael safe, and that's what I'm going to do so just get some rest and stop worrying," Gabriel says.

She took a good look at him. She had thought about him every day for the last seven year and here he was right in front of her. He hadn't changed much. He was a little more polished than she remembered. His haircut incorporated his colic rather than working against it. His usual T-shirt had been replaced with an expensive dress shirt that fit both his broad shoulders and trim waist. His skin looked fresh and healthy. His eyes were what had changed the most. She used to see love and trust in those eyes. Now all she saw was wariness.

"I'm getting up," Riley says.

She pulls the covers away from her legs and notices that she is dressed only in a large T-shirt and she has a bandage on one leg.

"What happened to my clothes," she asks.

"Uh, we had to cut them off of you," Gabriel says looking embarrassed, "It was an emergency and my T-shirt was handy so…"

She looks away hoping he won't notice her blushing and tries to put her feet on the floor. Gabriel moves closer.

"Give me a hand, will you?" she asks.

"No, you need to stay in bed," he says moving closer and sitting the tray down beside the bed.

"Fine, I'll do it myself," she pushes herself up on one leg, but when she tries to take a step on her hurt leg she crumples.

Gabriel, poised and ready, catches her neatly. She feels the heat of his hard arms through the thin T-shirt. The scent of him sparks a riot of memories and she feels her body reacting. She hopes he doesn't notice how flustered she is as he gently helps her back into bed, pulls her T-shirt down and draws the blankets back up over her legs.

"You know that I have the utmost respect for you Riley, but let's assess your situation a minute. You almost died yesterday. You can't walk. The pain killer in your IV is the only thing keeping your leg from hurting like hell and you can barely remember what happened to you yesterday. Just this once, can't you lie back and let me take care of things?" he asks.

She smiles. This was her old Gabriel, the Gabriel from before their break up and before their relationship turned physical.

"No," Riley says, " G2G was our 'the house is burning down' protocol. I've got to know what happened."

"If you promise to stay in your bed until Mac gives you the go ahead to get up, and eat your breakfast like a good girl, then I will tell you what I know," he says.

"Alright, I'll stay in bed and eat," she says.

Gabriel puts the breakfast tray in her lap, but takes away the coffee

"Hey!" she says, "I wanted that."

"I only brought that for the smell. I knew it would wake you up, but I don't want it keeping you awake," he says taking a drink from the cup, "Now eat your eggs and toasts."

She picks at her eggs.

"Yesterday there was a cyber attack at a meeting of the United Nations of Augmented Human Intelligence Representatives. All the representatives were downloading a report from the Secretary himself when a huge power surge essentially electrocuted them. All eighty three representatives died within seconds," Gabriel says quietly.

It took a moment for Riley to absorb the enormity of the tragedy. Every representative? That was going to throw the world into chaos. Most countries, including the United States, had dissolved their governments in favor of being governed by the United Nations of Augmented Human Intelligence. When the climate catastrophes and the bio-engineered viruses hit the world at the same time, traditional governments like theirs had proven far too slow in their reaction times to address the dual threats. Now the world depended on the Intelligents for everything from running the economy to protecting the rain forest. Without the Intelligents in charge, who knew what might happen.

She started thinking about the representatives she knew, had known, Yolanda Robinson, the US Representative, Marco Rialdi, the Italian Representative, Pan Hwang, the Japanese Representative. The loss was too great. She couldn't bear to think of them all dead. It must be much worse for Gabriel. He had trained so many of them.

"I'm sorry Gabriel. I know a lot of them were friends of yours, and you and Representative Robinson were close." she says, wondering if the tabloid rumors that they were lovers were true.

"I'm going to get the bastards who did it," he says.

"What do we know about the attack?" she asks.

"I can't figure out how they breached our security. Either the security code Nelson and I created wasn't really unbreakable or someone got help from the inside. Getting the malware that activated that power surge through our fire walls should have been impossible," he says.

Dr. Cassidy's son Nelson had left Cyber Com when the United States government started implanting micro-chips in the brains of the children on the Athens list, a list of the world's children who had the gene mutation necessary to support computer augmented intelligence. Nelson believed that only adults should be allowed to augment their intelligence and that chipping children was child abuse.

After leaving Cyber Com, Nelson went into business for himself, creating a new cyber security company. He recruited his old friend Gabriel for a special project, an unbreakable cyber security code. He and Gabriel tried to create a code that Gabriel couldn't hack. After years of disappointments, they finally succeeded with the Catalyst Code. The governments of the world flocked to buy the code because cyber security had become the number one priority of defense departments world-wide. As a result Nelson and Gabriel had become two of the richest and most powerful men on the planet, but if their code had been broken they had just become two of the most suspected men on the planet.

"Are you and Michael in danger? What if you download something that causes you to be electrocuted?" Riley says.

"I've already put safety protocols in place to keep it from happening again, but what concerns me is how they hacked the United Nations secure server. It is completely separate from the rest of the Internet," he says.

"What concerns me is keeping Michael safe. Can we keep him off the Internet completely," she asks.

"I've got him limited to my secure server with shut down fail safes initiating if he tries to leave it," Gabriel says.

"Gabriel there's something you need to know. Michael isn't a normal Intelligent. When he gets distressed emotionally, he can do things without realizing it," she says, "On the way here he unconsciously over rode Cyber Com's perimeter shut down because he was afraid I might hurt his friend Bud to get him clear," she says.

"What's normal anyway? There's nothing normal about having a chip in your head. How old was Michael when they implanted it? I can't imagine a baby dealing with the data overload," he says.

"He was only about 30 months old. Lillian put them off as long as she could, but he's a genius, and he learned to talk very early. As soon as they realized they could communicate with him, they insisted," she says.

"But Lillian adopted him, right? Couldn't she just have refused to give her consent as his mother?" Gabriel asks.

"That was about the time the Apex virus was released and heavy metal shortages were at their worst. When Lillian refused to consent to the procedure the last time the US government threatened to pull Michael's protection. Without it, the Chinese or the Russians would have kidnapped him within days," she said.

"How ironic, the only way Lillian could protect Michael was to give him a potentially life threatening operation. I still don't understand why they couldn't wait until he was older," Gabriel says.

"Michael's gene mutation is slightly different. They don't know why, but his mutation is more advanced. It has the capability to adapt when certain conditions exist," she says.

"What conditions?" he asks.

"Conditions that are created by having a micro-chip implanted in your brain. The chip changes the way his brain works and that triggers other genetic changes. He uses his brain differently than other Intelligents when he interacts with the information grid. He has already mastered skills other Intelligents weren't able to do until their teens. He's exceptional and that makes him more vulnerable. Gabriel, are you sure you can keep Michael safe here?" Riley asks.

"Riley, could you stop being the protection detail for one minute," he says.

"No, I'm Michael's only protection. Are we secured here?" she asks.

"Yes. This is my mother's ranch in South Dakota. I created this place to be a bunker back during the catastrophe years. It's a burm home that doesn't look like much of anything from the air, but buried underneath it has state of the art security facilities including radar. There's a bomb shelter on the lowest floor stocked with a two year's worth of supplies. I've run extensive background checks on my staff and I consider them completely trustworthy. Besides why would anyone look for you here? Everyone knows you broke my heart and we don't speak anymore," he says.

And there it was out in the open. She had hoped somehow that they could ignore that part of their past and fall back into the easy habit of just being co-workers, but Gabriel had never been one to hide from conflict.

"Gabriel I…" she begins.

"Save it Riley. You're getting white around the mouth again and I need to bring Michael up so he can see for himself that you're okay before I put you back to bed," he says.

"You haven't given me your threat assessment. Has anyone claimed responsibility?

"Riley, you're just going to have to trust me. You're in no shape for a staff meeting and I'm doing everything I can to figure out who's behind this. Now finish you eggs. I'll be right back with Michael. And Riley …" he says.

"What?" she asks.

"Michael is safer here than he would be anywhere else. Even though you didn't want to marry a man who's 'three quarters machine', he's a hell of a guy to have on your side in a fight."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Clockwork Armageddon

Riley felt like someone had kicked her in the stomach. It was so like Gabriel to lull her into a false sense of security and then drop a bomb. He was a strategist in both love and war. She thought back to the night she'd ended it between them. At first he had refused to believe that she wanted to break it off. He kept asking her what was really wrong, then he tried to get her to agree to counseling, and finally he had become suspicious saying, "Is there someone else? Who is he, Riley?" She knew she couldn't hold up to hours of his interrogation without telling him the truth so she finally said the one thing she knew would hurt him enough to make him leave. It still made her sick to think of the look on his face.

"Riley!" a little voice broke her out of her reverie.

"Michael," she says throwing her arms wide for a hug.

Michael throws his arms around her neck almost chocking her. She loosens his soft little arms from around her neck and breathes in the scent of baby shampoo from his downy hair. It was worth it. It was all worth it.

Michael lets go of her neck and says, "I'm glad you're better. Gabriel said you would be alright, but you looked terrible. You had tubes sticking out of you and I was scared."

"I'm sorry I scared you little man, but I'm much better now. By tomorrow I'll be up and around and you can give me a tour of the place," she said.

"Don't make any promises you can't keep, agent," Gabriel says, and then to Michael, "Riley is going to need to get a lot of rest and she's going to have to be very careful with herself until Mac says she's all better."

"Mac was a medic in Afghanistan. He knows how to take out bullets, and put more blood in you, and sew you back up," Michael says.

"Mac is my mother's nurse. He's the only one she hasn't been able to run off with her meanness," Riley says.

"Well I'm glad Mac was here because I don't think Gabriel knows how to do all that," Riley says.

"No, but he's really strong. He carried you all the way to the helicopter, and then he flew us back here really fast," Michael says defending his new hero.

"Hey, I thought we were going to keep that helicopter thing to ourselves," Gabriel says.

"Sounds like I have a lot of people to thank for saving my life," Riley says.

"It was nothing we wouldn't have done for any passing stranger," Gabriel says.

Ignoring Gabriel, Riley says to Michael, "What have you been doing while I was lying here lazing around?"

"Gabriel's house is super cool! He has a big room just for virtual reality games. I played I was a space ranger, and a fireman, and I flew a helicopter. Gabriel says when I get really good at the game he will teach me how to fly a real one," Michael says.

"Well it sounds like you've been having a great time," Riley says.

"Not at first. At first, I was really scared and I wanted Mommy, but Granny Vaughn - She said I could call her that," Michael says gesturing to the woman in the hall and for the first time Riley notices that Michael's mother is standing there watching her, "said Gabriel wouldn't let anything happen to you."

"Mrs. Vaughn, I didn't see you there. Thank you for taking such good care of Michael," Riley says.

"I've been glad to do it. He's a very good boy and smart too," she says smiling at Michael.

Gabriel says, "We better let Riley get some sleep so she can get better and be ready to play with you in the morning. Say goodnight, Michael."

Michael throws his arms around Riley again, this time kissing her on the cheek.

"Goodnight, Riley," he says.

"Don't let the bed bugs bite," Riley says.

Michael looks at her hesitating.

"When am I going to get to go home? I want to see Mommy and Rex," Michael says.

"I'm not sure Michael. Mommy has a lot of work to do right now. She wanted me to bring you here so she would know that you were safe and she wouldn't have to worry about you while she was working. As soon as she can I'm sure she'll send word for us to come home," Riley says.

"But why hasn't she called me," he asked.

Lillian had a very demanding job as head of Cyber Com, but she always found time to call Michael and at least wish him goodnight.

"A lot of people got hurt in a computer accident and Mommy is working really, really hard to make sure that nobody else gets hurt. You wouldn't want anyone else to get hurt because Mommy was busy saying goodnight to you, would you?" Riley asked.

"No," Michael says in a small, dejected voice.

"Mommy knows that Gabriel and I are going to take good care of you and make sure you have a good time while you're here. I'm sure that Mommy is getting her work done as fast as she can so you and I can come home. Now give me one more hug and then go to bed, because it is way past your bed time," Riley says.

Michael gives Riley another hug and a kiss.

"Come on Michael. Granny Vaughn will put you to bed," Gabriel says.

"Actually Gabriel, you're the one that needs to sleep, and you promised Michael you would tell him stories about when you and Riley were partners. You go on and I'll sit up here with Riley until Mac comes back on duty," Mrs. Vaughn says.

"Yes Gabriel, I want to hear about the time you got shot and Granny Vaughn had to sew you up on the kitchen table," Michael says.

"Well … Okay. I could use a little shut eye. Mom if you get tired, just give me a buzz. You're not as young as you used to be," Gabriel says.

"Neither are you. Now get out of here. I'll be fine," Mrs. Vaughn says.

"How about a piggy back ride?" Gabriel asks.

"Yes! Yes!" says Michael.

"Come on then," Gabriel says bending down.

Michael jumps up on his back and says, "Monkey boy!"

As Gabriel gets up their profiles are displayed side by side and Riley draws in her breath.

"Are you alright, Riley?" Mrs. Vaughn asks as the boys leave the room.

"Just had a little twinge, that's all," Riley says.

"You should try and get some more sleep. It's the best thing for you," Mrs. Vaughn says.

"After what Gabriel told me what happened at the United Nations I don't think I can. A hundred possible threat scenarios are chasing each other around in my head right now," Riley says.

"That's why they make the good drugs, dear," Mrs. Vaughn says, "I'm just going to dial your pain killer up a tiny bit."

Riley would have argued, but she preferred sleeping to making forced small talk with a woman she knew hated her guts. Mrs. Vaughn did not forgive or forget those who hurt her little boy and Riley knew it. She smiled at Mrs. Vaughn and closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep.

Riley couldn't breathe. Something was covering her face. Something soft and dense was being pushed into it. She tried to move her arms, but they were constricted by something below her shoulders. She struggled harder but she couldn't move her arms. Suddenly the obstruction was lifted from her face and she could breathe. Gratefully, she sucked air into her lungs. Looking up, she squinted in the dim light coming in from the hallway to see Mrs. Vaughn standing above her holding a pillow.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't smother you to death for keeping my grandson from me for six years," Mrs. Vaughn said in a violent whisper.

"He isn't your …. " Riley manages to get out before the pillow comes down again. This time she holds it down longer and Riley feels herself losing consciousness before it is lifted again.

"If you lie to me again, girl, I won't lift this pillow until you're dead," Mrs. Vaughn says.

Riley still gasping doesn't reply until Mrs. Vaughn lifts the pillow again.

"Yes! Yes! He's Gabriel's son," Riley says.

"And you're his mother?" Mrs. Vaughn asks.

"Yes," Riley answers.

"Why? Why would you keep him from us?" Mrs. Vaughn asks.

"It was the only way," Riley says, "The only way I could keep them both safe."

"I don't understand," Mrs. Vaughn says.

"When we got engaged we talked about having children. It was just about then that they started using the Athens list to create new Intelligents. Of course, they said that the parents volunteered their children for the good of the planet, but we both knew what kind of strong arming was going on behind the scenes. Gabriel said he didn't want to have any children because of his gene mutation. He knew his children could inherit it and he said no child of his would be forced to have a chip in its head. Gabriel was going to have a vasectomy and we were going to adopt," Riley says.

"And you wanted biological children?" she asks.

"No, I was fine with it. He scheduled the surgery and then I found out I was pregnant," Riley says.

"So why didn't you tell him? Surely the two of you could have worked something out," Mrs. Vaughn says.

"I needed to know if the baby had the 4U7-R gene so I went to Lillian," Riley says.

"I should have known that strawberry-blond witch was a part of this somehow," Mrs. Vaughn says.

"We had the baby's DNA tested and it came back positive for 4U7-R gene. I didn't know what to do. I knew that Gabriel meant what he said. I knew that he would never consent to letting them put a chip in our child's head, but I also knew how treacherous government leaders could be. Our son would be a second generation Intelligent and every country in the world would be desperate to get him. It would just be a matter of time before an accident took Gabriel's life, a car would hit him as he crossed the street, or he would slip and fall in the bathroom, botulism would mysteriously appear in the sauce on his chicken. After him, I would be next and then who knows what would happen to our baby. I run protection details for a living. I know that if someone is willing to throw enough resources at making you dead it's only a matter of time," Riley says.

"So you dumped Gabriel and let them put a chip in his son's head like a good little soldier," Mrs. Vaughn said.

"That chip is what has kept Michael safe. Sooner or later, someone was going to implant that chip. All I could do was mitigate the circumstances. I could make sure that it was our government and not the Chinese. I could make sure that a woman I trusted was in control of what happened to my baby and not some stranger. I could make sure that I was the one around to protect him and not some random agent who had no reason to care for him. I worked out a plan with Lillian. It wasn't perfect, but it was the best I could do," Riley said.

"You make it all sound so noble, poor Riley sacrificing herself for the sake of her son. Do you have any idea what it did to my son? Gabriel was a mess after you left him. For the first year, he thought you would come back, and then the depression set in. If it hadn't been for Nelson and his project, I truly think he would have died of misery," she says.

"It killed me to hurt Gabriel, but it was the only way I could save his life," Riley said.

"Is that how you justify breaking his heart and stealing his son away from him?" Mrs. Vaughn said.

"Yes. I have sacrificed everything for Michael. I have regrets, but I know that I made the right choice," Riley says.

"Well I think you had more choices than you know and I think my son deserves to know he's a father. It will change everything for him," Mrs. Vaughn says.

"Please, Mrs. Vaughn now is not the time. Both our sons are in grave danger. Gabriel needs to be focused on figuring out who is killing Intelligents or he and Michael could be next. If you throw this at him now it will only distract him," Riley says.

"I will not be a part of your conspiracy to keep Gabriel in the dark about his son," Mrs. Vaughn said, "It's just a matter of time before everyone notices. That boy is the spitting image of his father at that age. Anyone with eyes who can count could figure it out."

"If you will agree not to tell him until after they have found out who is responsible for the attack on the United Nations then I promise you that I will tell him myself," she said.

Mrs. Vaughn gives Riley a hard look.

"Allright, I'll keep your secret a little longer, but Gabriel could figure it out any minute and when he does it's going to be like the wrath of God breaking over your head!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Clockwork Armageddon

Riley couldn't sleep the rest of the night even though Mac took over for Mrs. Vaughn. All she could think about was what would happen when Gabriel found out about Michael. She had planned to take that secret to her grave, and now she had to figure out how to tell him. What could she possibly say? Granny Vaughn was right. Michael was the spitting image of his father and it wouldn't be long before someone else noticed besides his mother.

Mac took one look at the dark circles under her eyes this morning, gave her something to help her sleep and put her back to bed for the day. She did feel better after getting some sleep and now Mac was back for a reassessment.

"You are doing surprisingly well for someone who was near death two days ago," Mac says as he adjusts the dressing on her leg.

"I feel pretty good, but how long until I'll be able to walk on this leg without feeling it?" Riley asks.

"Well, you may always feel it on a rainy day, but I'd say you'll only need this cane for a couple more days," Mac says.

There's a knock on the bedroom door.

"Are you decent in there," Gabriel asks.

"Yes. Come on in," Riley says.

"I was going to see if Mac would let you come up and eat with us," Gabriel says, "What do you say Mac? Is she well enough to eat supper out of bed?"

"Yes, I think it would be good for her to get out of bed for a little while," Mac says, "Now if you'll excuse me I've got to see to my other patient. She's been overdoing it all day with Michael."

After Mac leaves, Riley says, "I'd like to clean up before dinner."

"Oh sure, everything you need should be in the bathroom there," he says pointing to the en suite bathroom in her rather elegant bedroom.

"And do you have anything else I could wear?" she asks pulling at the T-shirt of Gabriel's that's she's still wearing.

"Uh, there should be something in the closet there that would fit you. I have a friend about your size who left some things here," he says.

"Are you sure she will be alright with me borrowing them?" Riley asks.

"I don't think she'll be back," he says looking at her with his wry grin.

She decides not to touch that one and asks, "How long until dinner?"

"About an hour," he says, "I'm making my famous chili in your honor so don't be late."

"That sounds great," Riley says, "Well if you'll excuse me I need to get cleaned up.

"I'll just make sure you can make it to the bathroom first," he says.

Carefully negotiating with her cane she makes it to the door and looks back at him saying, "Made it. You can leave now."

"Are you sure you don't need help getting in the shower?" he asks with that smile on his face that makes his dimples show and her heart beat faster.

"No, I'll be fine," she says closing the bathroom door.

"I'll be back in an hour to help you hobble to the dining room," he yells through the door.

She spends an uncomfortable shower trying to keep her dressing from getting wet and her mind from thinking of Gabriel with the woman who left her clothes behind.

Gabriel was right. Everything she needed was in the bathroom from hair products to make up. The mystery woman must have had similar coloring to hers. Her taste in clothing, however, was nothing like hers. It was somewhere between trollop and circus clown.

After much consideration she chose a brown suede skirt about three inches shorter than she was comfortable wearing, a garishly patterned silk blouse with big puffy sleeves that was too low cut and a pair of over-the-knee, brown, suede boots. They were the only flats in the closet, and she couldn't manage heels with the cane. The boots were about a half size too large and the skirt was a size smaller than she would normally wear making it strain over her rear end.

At precisely an hour since Gabriel had left, she heard a knock on the door.

"Can we come in," Gabriel says.

"Come in, "Riley says.

Gabriel comes in with Michael.

"Well don't you look … nice," Gabriel says giving her body a once over from ankle to face and then back down again focusing somewhere at her chest.

Riley tries not to blush, but she can't help it. She pulls the skirt down and looks up at Gabriel defiantly. He pulls his eyes up to her face and smiles.

"You look like a pirate," Michael says.

"Well these are some clothes I borrowed from a friend of Gabriel's. Was she a pirate Gabriel?" she asks.

"No, but she did plunder my bank account… We came to escort you to dinner, miss," he says offering his arm.

She hadn't really counted on how hard it was to be physically close to Gabriel. Keeping her distance emotionally was relatively easy. All she had to do was think of the secrets and lies between them to know their relationship was over for good. While her rational mind could come up with lots of reasons why they couldn't be together, her body was not so easily reasoned with. Mrs. Vaughn's house was a big rambling ranch and it was a long walk to the dining room. Riley was forced to lean on the arm Gabriel offered. She could feel his bicep muscle bulging through his shirt and the warmth of it seemed to burn. She had been ridiculously attracted to Gabriel from the first moment she saw him. She was drawn to him by some kind of magical force that made her see only him. There was no denying his good looks. She couldn't help but notice his chiseled features, big shoulders and trim waist. Yet it was the something about his vulnerability under the raw power and confidence that drew her to him in a primal way. She cast about for something to say to distract herself.

"Your mother's home is beautiful, but I'm puzzled as to why she chose South Dakota?" Riley asks.

"I guess she and my Dad made some plans for what they were going to do after he got home from Vietnam. For some reason, he wanted to raise beef cattle in South Dakota. When we made it big with the Catalyst Code I told her I would buy her any home she wanted and this is what she picked. I guess it's her way of making a tribute to my dad. Sort of fulfilling the dream that he couldn't," he says.

"You're a good son Gabriel," she says.

"Oh it's worked out pretty well for me too. Sometimes it's nice to get away from it all, and with over 1300 acres I don't have much trouble with paparazzi," he says.

Turning to Michael, Riley says "I'm sorry I couldn't play with you today."

"That's okay. Mac says we can play tomorrow. I played with Granny Vaughn today," he says.

"What did you play?" she asks.

"She taught me how to play poker and I taught her how to play Risk, but the best thing was getting to see her cows and horses," he says.

"I thought you weren't allowed to go outside," she says.

"Oh there's a tunnel that takes you to the barn, because Granny likes to see the horses, but she doesn't like to go outside in the snow. She has a new foal named Blaze. When I come back to visit she is going to let me help train him," he says.

Mac is seated at the table and he gets up when he sees Riley coming in.

"Good evening Mac," Riley says.

"Riley this is Mac's wife, Treeney," Gabriel says indicating a tiny Pilipino woman sitting next to Mac, "She's my mother's housekeeper and she keeps us all straight while she's at it."

"Nice to meet you Treeney," Riley says.

"Yes. Nice to meet you too. Glad you are feeling better," Treeney says.

"What are you dressed for, Halloween?" Mrs. Vaughn asks.

"No, these are some clothes I borrowed that a friend of Gabriel's left here," Riley says.

"I've been after that boy for years to settle down with a nice girl and give me some grandchildren, but all he wants to do is chase after a bunch of tramps," Mrs. Vaughn says as she looks straight at Riley's cleavage.

"I told you that I'm too young to be a father," Gabriel says.

Riley begins to panic wondering what the old woman will say next.

"Michael, do you think Gabriel is old enough to be a father?" she asks giving Riley a nasty smile.

"Sure," Michael says, "but baby's are boring and they cry all the time."

"I like babies. I wish I had known you when you were a baby," she says to Michael making Riley feel a wave of guilt for what she had denied her.

"Babies just cry and poop," Michael says very amused at his own joke.

"Michael, we don't need to talk about poop when we're about to eat," Riley says.

"So you don't want a brother or a sister?" Mrs. Vaughn says.

"Well maybe a brother if he was old enough to play with," he says, "but I'd rather have my own horse."

"A much better choice little man, though horses poop even more than babies," Gabriel says making Michael laugh and Riley frown at him, "Now you sit down next to me, and Riley you sit here," he says pulling out the chair across from his and helping her into it.

Dinner was a pleasant affair. Mac and Treeney told the story of how they met when Mac was stationed in the Philippines. Mrs. Vaughn amused Michael with some stories of the trouble Gabriel and his brother had gotten into when they were little boys.

"Gabriel was a little feller, probably four or five. His big brother Tom teased him until he climbed up the apple tree, but Gabriel was scared to get down. Tom knew he would get in trouble with me for getting his brother stuck up a tree so he found a rope in the garage and tossed it up to Gabriel. I looked out the window and I saw Tom on the ground holding the rope and Gabriel with the rope in his hands. I started to open the window to yell at them when Tom gave a yank on the rope and pulled Gabriel down from the tree. Thank God the ground was muddy. I ran outside and Gabriel wasn't even crying. He just said, 'I was sceered but Tom got me down with the rope,' Mrs. Vaughn says laughing.

Riley stole a glance at Gabriel and caught him looking at her with a scary intensity.

Gabriel got up saying, "Time for bed, Michael."

"I don't want to go to bed. I'm not tired," Michael says.

"We're all going to bed now. Riley and Granny Vaughn need their rest and it's past your bed time," Gabriel says.

"Will you put me to bed?" Michael asks.

"I'm afraid I can't tonight. I have an important phone call that I have to take, but Mac has agreed to do the honors tonight and he has some really good stories," Gabriel says.

"Will it be about shooting and bullets?" Michael asks.

"How about the time I caught a tiger," Mac says.

"Yes. I want to know about the tiger," Michael says and happily takes Mac's hand.

"Say goodnight Michael," Mac says.

Michael makes the rounds kissing Riley and Granny Vaughn and high fiving Gabriel, before he heads off happily with Mac.

"Well, I'm off to bed too. Thanks for the chili, son. Good night," Mrs. Vaughn said leaving the room.

"And I have some clearing up to do," Treeney says.

"Come on gimpy. I'll put you to bed," Gabriel says to Riley pulling out her chair and offering her his hands, "I should have put you in one with arms. You'll never get out of that one by yourself."

She puts her hands in his and he gently pulls her to her feet. Suddenly her face is inches from his chest and when she looks up his face is perilously close to hers. She swallows, looking into his eyes. They're like a magnet pulling her in. She can't help but think about kissing his smiling, full lips.

"Tell me about your phone call," Riley says trying to break the tension.

"Nothing for you to worry about," Gabriel says steadying her on her feet and stepping to her side.

"Come on Gabriel, don't leave me out. It just makes me worry more," Riley says.

"Alright Riley, they want me and Nelson in New York. They've decided we aren't terrorists after all and they need our help to figure out what's going on with our code," he says offering her his arm again.

"Oh," she says feeling a stab of disappointment as she takes his arm, "Well I'm sure Michael and I will be quite safe here."

"I don't like leaving you here alone. I've worked out a plan with Nelson. Tomorrow, you and Michael are going to come with me to Nelson's island in the Caribbean," he says.

"Michael and I can't go gallivanting around the country. I'm sure they have us on the no fly list, we're fugitives," she says.

"The only fugitive list you're on is Cyber Com's. Lillian doesn't trust any other agency enough to ask for their help. We'll be flying from here on my private jet and landing on the island. I don't think we'll have any trouble," he says.

"Are you sure Michael will be safe there?" she asks.

"He'll be a safe as he can be. Nelson has the best security money can buy. John Neff, his head of security used to be assigned to the President of the United States. John outfitted the island specifically to be a stronghold and it can't be approached without his knowing. You two will be safer there than you would be in the Whitehouse," he says.

"Alright, I guess we could use a little fun in the sun," she says.

"Camile and the kids are going to be there too. Nelson has been very nervous about his family's safety lately. He's afraid some of the world's governments might hold us responsible for the attack," he says.

"But I don't think it's a good idea to let anyone else know about Michael," she says.

"Nelson knows the truth, but to everyone else you are going to be one of my old girl friend's, hiding out from an abusive husband," he says.

"Great, I guess that explains my gunshot wound, but what about Michael?" she asks.

"Michael is your step son and you're on the down low until my lawyers can get you full custody," he says.

"I guess it will work," she says, "I've never met Nelson's wife. Isn't she some kind of Brazilian bombshell?"

"She's a huge star there," he says.

"I can't imagine Nelson married to a film star," she says.

"Camile looks like a swim suit model, but she's really down to earth. I think you'll like her, and they have two kids the right age for Michael to play with. Nelson is five and Shanen is three," he says.

"That will be good for Michael," Riley says, "He doesn't get much time to play with other children."

They arrive outside of her bedroom door.

Riley looks up at Gabriel. Every inch of her body is screaming for him. It had been so long, but she remembered everything about it, the way it felt when he took her in his arms, the urgency of his lips on hers. What if she just let herself go and kissed him?

She gathered every ounce of will power she could muster and said, "Good night, Gabriel," as she turned the handle to her door and practically threw herself into the room.

"Good night, Riley," he said quietly, and then he turned and walked away leaving her feeling deserted and empty. She closed the door and started removing her ridiculous outfit.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Clockwork Armageddon

Gabriel couldn't sleep. He could have blamed it on Lillian's phone call or his worries about the Catalyst Code, but he knew what the problem was, Riley Neal. He had done a pretty good job over the years of pushing her out of his mind, but there was no avoiding his thoughts when she was right here strutting around in a sexy pirate outfit. It was enough to drive any man crazy. Mac had stared at her breasts so much during dinner that it made him want to punch him in the nose.

Why was he feeling like this? He was over her. Wasn't he?

He was in a bad mood and the last thing he wanted to do right now was go to New York. Shouldn't he be more worried about who had broken or stolen his code than he was about an old girlfriend who had dumped him? Enough of this! He was getting up.

He got out of bed and padded down the hall to the kitchen in his pajama bottoms and bare feet. He'd had too much bourbon after Lillian's phone call. Instead of calming him down, it had made him more hyped up, and now he couldn't sleep. Maybe a glass of milk and something to eat would do the trick.

He reaches the kitchen. The light above the sink is on. It looks like someone else is up. As he rounds the corner he sees who it is.

Riley Neal is trying to reach a box of cocoa on the top shelf of his mother's kitchen while leaning on her cane. She is wearing his T-shirt and very little else as far as he can tell from the way her lovely bottom is hanging out beneath it.

Like a big cat he moves silently up behind her until he is almost touching her and says, "Can I help …oomph!

She elbows him in the stomach but he catches her by the shoulders before she can fall off her cane.

"You shouldn't sneak up on me like that. I was just going to make some cocoa," she says not turning around.

He lifts her hair up off one shoulder and gently puts his lips on the spot where her neck and shoulder meet. She moans softly and he feels her lean into him ever so slightly. She turns in his arms to face him with a protest on her lips, but he captures her lips with his own, thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth. At first she is shocked into stillness, but then she begins to kiss him back. Encouraged, he puts his hands around her waist lifting her up until she's sitting on the kitchen counter. He slips his hands down to her hips and pulls her into him. He feels a rush of lust and presses his lips harder into hers, but then her hands are pushing against his chest.

He ignores her willing her to give in. It almost works. She begins to kiss him back, but then he feels her hands pushing against his chest again and she starts moving her head from side to side trying to avoid his kiss. Reluctantly, he raises his head and looks down at her with smoldering eyes.

"Let's take this to my bedroom," he says huskily.

She looks up at him for a long moment and he stares right into her big brown eyes willing her to say yes.

"Gabriel, I'm sorry. I can't. I didn't mean to … Please, let me go," she says her voice breaking.

"You make it sound like I was trying to rape you. I thought you wanted this … wanted me," he says.

"I'm sorry. I did, but I just can't. Please …" she lets her words trail off and looks away.

"You know, if it's the machine thing, I'm not asking you to marry me. I just want to ..." he stops himself when he sees the look on her face.

"Fine," he says curtly, lifting her down from the counter and moving to one side. He doesn't feel like a machine now. In fact, he's never felt more human. Why did she have to come back into his life now?

Changing the subject, she asks, "Were you having trouble sleeping too?"

"Yeah, I had too many bourbons and I kept thinking about you in your pirate outfit," he says.

"Would you like me to make us some cocoa?" she asks, "It always used to help you sleep."

"To be honest, I have other plans for you," he says.

"If you'll get the cocoa down for me, I'll put it in the milk I've heated," she says.

Grudgingly, he retrieves the cocoa and sits it next to her on the counter.

"And could you get me the sugar and a half cup measure as well," she asks.

He complies sitting them next to the stove and goes to sit at the stool across the counter from her. Her face is flushed as she stirs the sugar into the heating milk. He almost groans aloud when he notices that her nipples are hard beneath his T-shirt.

"I was looking through the things your friend left in the closet, and I didn't notice much for a warm climate," she says stirring in the cocoa.

"Write down your sizes. I'll give them to my assistant and she can get my people to buy you and Michael what you need. There should be a closet full of beach wear waiting for both of you on the island by the time you get there. All you have to worry about is what to wear on the plane tomorrow," he says.

"Wow, I was just going to ask you if I could pick us up a few things from Wal-Mart. I can't get used to Gabriel the rich man. Since when did you ever know about clothes?" she asks still stirring.

"Oh I still don't know about clothes, but I know how to hire someone who does. Things have changed since I was living on a civil servant salary," he says.

"It wasn't all bad. Remember some of those cheap joints you used to take me to?" she asks.

"Like that pancake joint with the Mexican name, what was it?" he asks.

"Chico's maybe, I can't remember, but those were good pancakes," she says getting down two coffee cups and pouring cocoa into them from the pan, "Here you go," she says placing the cup in front of him.

"I missed your cocoa," he says picking up the cup and sipping his, "nobody makes it like you."

"Sure they do, but thanks, Gabriel," she says as she picks up her cup and blows on the hot cocoa, "I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me and Michael. I know you've put yourself and your family at risk to help us, and I just want you to know how much I appreciate it. You're a good friend Gabriel, even when I don't deserve it."

"No matter what happens between us, Riley, I'll always be there when you need me," Gabriel says.

"Gabriel, there's something I should tell you …" she begins.

He looks warily into her big brown eyes.

"Never mind. It will keep. I'm going to bed and this time I can do it all by myself," she says picking up her cocoa and heading for the door, "See you in the morning."

He lets her go because he knows he can't stand at her bedroom door again without coming inside. He grinds his teeth in frustration and sips his cocoa. He'll never get to sleep now. Might as well go get some work done.


End file.
